Revolut said hackers obtained personal information belonging to hundreds of European customers after impersonating a government agency in a targeted fraud operation.
How The Attack Unfolded
The digital bank said it detected a “sophisticated external impersonation scam” in which an unauthorized third party used an email address from a legitimate government agency domain to submit fraudulent requests for customer data.
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According to the Financial Times, Italian hackers gained access to a compromised Italian government email account and used it to pose as officials seeking customer information.
Data obtained in the incident included customer addresses, verification photos, identity documents and information related to bitcoin activity.
Hundreds Of Customers Affected
A source familiar with the matter said roughly 680 Revolut customers across several European countries were affected. Revolut did not identify the number of customers involved in its statement.
The British fintech, whose European banking operations are legally based and licensed in Lithuania, said its systems and customer funds were “unaffected.” Affected customers were contacted and offered support, the company said.
“Upon detection, we immediately blocked the address and alerted the relevant government agency as well as enforcement agencies, data protection and financial regulators,” Revolut said.
Regulators Assess The Incident
Britain’s Information Commissioner’s Office confirmed that it had received a report about the incident and was assessing the information provided.
Rather than gaining direct access to Revolut’s systems, the attackers used a compromised government email account to request customer information. The incident highlights the risks financial institutions face when fraudsters exploit trusted communication channels.
Incident Comes Amid Rapid Expansion
Revolut has continued expanding its banking operations since launching as a fintech in 2015. The company was valued at $115 billion in a secondary share sale in July, and it received a UK banking license in March and a full French banking license in August.
Conditional approval for a US banking license followed this month, while Revolut applied for a Swiss banking license on Tuesday. The company says it now has more than 80 million customers globally and is targeting 100 million customers across 100 countries.
